This October at The Fintech Times we are championing the fantastic females in the fintech industry. Around 30% of the fintech workforce are women, and we want to spotlight those who have not only made it to the top, but those who have overcome hurdles, bulldozing a path for the women to follow.
Here we hear from Francesca Hodgeson, Romina Savova, Kristy Kim, Gloria Wu and Priti Rathi Gupta as they share with us their greatest achievement.
Francesca Hodgeson, Co-founder and MD at Goodbox
“I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to launch my own business but asides my family, certainly a standout moment for me was being awarded a scholarship to the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School where I am currently completing my Executive MBA. I am also very proud of GoodBox and the team who are processing an average of 500 donations an hour for incredible UK charities…just proof that small change can make real change.”
Romina Savova, Founder and CEO at PensionBee
“My greatest achievement happened in April this year – when PensionBee joined the High Growth Segment of the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. Our plan had always been to list in London at the right time for us, and having grown rapidly since we first launched, becoming a public company was the natural next step in our development.
We knew this transition would enable us to access capital so we could further develop our customer-focused proposition and extend our reach to millions of consumers across the UK, whilst continuing to use our voice to make positive changes in the pensions industry.
Our IPO marked the culmination of seven years of hard work, and is testament to the dedication the PensionBee team shows to helping our customers each and every day. It was particularly exciting to take customers with us on our journey and we were thrilled that so many wanted to take part in this phase of our growth by applying for shares in our customer offer.”
Kristy Kim, CEO and Co-Founder of TomoCredit
“My greatest achievement has been building this company with a community of amazing, dedicated, diverse people. I started TomoCredit back in 2019. It was just me and a crazy idea. Now, the team is 30 members who truly love their job and the mission of the company. Looking at their dedication to Tomo’s cause fills me with such pride.
In addition, the diversity of our team stands out. The group is a mix of diverse people from different walks of life; from 18 year olds to 65 year olds, and many different nationalities. Our differences make our team stronger as we are able to understand different types of customers, motivations and build an inclusive product because of this diversity of thought. Our product “TomoCredit Card” is built to help young people gain access to credit easily, and many people on the team were part of the 30mm in the U.S. population that lacked credit history and were denied access to credit. That experience, and motivation, fills me with pride.
I have been mindful about hiring diverse talent from the beginning. For example, half of our senior executive team members are female and people of colour. This helps us build a great work culture that is encouraging everyone to reach their full potential without bias.
Therefore, the team that is building this company is what I view as my greatest achievement, and everyday I am grateful that we were able to build a great company and community together.
Gloria Wu, Chief of Ecosystem Partnerships at Ontology
“At Ontology, I have been encouraged to speak publicly and participate in various industry events, which has been a great learning experience and personal achievement. Last year, I had the pleasure to speak at the Blockchain For Europe Summit where I was involved in a panel discussion moderated by Eva Kaili MEP entitled “The Ultimate Impact of Blockchain”. It was a fantastic learning experience and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to voice my perspective on the future of decentralized identity and blockchain as a whole, along with many industry leaders. More recently, I gave a presentation at the European Identity and Cloud Conference on the rise of an identity-native Web3 world.
“I am grateful for the opportunities that I have been afforded at Ontology and am very glad to be representing women in a more male-dominated industry. Whilst I recognise that there are barriers to entry in the blockchain industry, access to information and developments are publicly available online, which is beginning to spark real change. The free flow of information, irrespective of people’s genders, enables anyone, anywhere to get involved in the blockchain sphere. Blockchain and crypto are founded on egalitarian principles and I think, for the most part, blockchain enthusiasts are happy to help and encourage people who are new to the space. Women should get involved in this thriving industry which has been so fascinating to be a part of over the last years.”
Priti Rathi Gupta, founder of LXME
“Through my career spanning over two decades in providing financial solutions to clients, I witnessed the deep chasm between the percentage of men and the percentage of women taking charge of their financial decisions. As a woman, this learning came as a deeply disturbing reality. Watching financial advisors and firms turn a blind eye to the elephant in the room worried me. Nobody was taking up the challenge of financial education to encourage women to invest and the world of finance for women grew further away, surmounting as a hurdle to any that tried to face it.
“So, at 47, I decided to break this barrier and set up LXME.
“My decision to be a founder at this age was questioned by many. Doubts were raised about the challenges of setting up a business and I was reminded time and again of how difficult it would be to adapt to the fast-paced digital world.
“These questions didn’t hold me back. I believed in the right purpose, channelled my passion aided with the right background to start a platform to enable women to invest. I am driven towards LXME because I truly have faith in its power to actually change the world. It is this faith that guided me towards taking everything I had learned from my life experiences and put it all together to build LXME.
“LXME is the only platform in India that not only provides a safe community for women to talk about all money matters, but also provides a transactional platform for them to start investing and financial planning.
“We have impacted over 65,000 women in the past year with our online sessions on money management! With a sizable number of women doing the entire journey from learning to investing, LXME has validated its value proposition. I now have visibility of the impact that LXME can create for women in India and someday globally. This is my greatest achievement: Building what is now India’s 1st Financial Platform for Women- LXME.”
